


Prompt: "What did you do?"

by Athena83



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 12:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16743928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athena83/pseuds/Athena83
Summary: Young Peter gets in over his head after he tries to steal something.





	Prompt: "What did you do?"

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request I received for the prompt: "What did you do?" with Yondu and young Peter.

Peter had lived on the Eclector long enough to learn how much he could get away with without Yondu finding out. He was eleven, and clever, and he could outsmart any of the Ravagers. At least, that’s what he would tell you, whether it was the truth or not. 

Yondu had docked on a planet to pick up a sensitive item for a client, and the only thing he had yelled after Peter as he’d run off the ship was, “Stay outta trouble, boy! I ain’t gotta problem leavin’ ya here!”

Peter had ignored him, as always. He’d heard enough threats from Yondu over the past couple of years that he wasn’t worried about getting left behind, and he definitely wasn’t planning to get into any trouble. You couldn’t get into trouble if you didn’t get caught, and he had no intentions of getting caught. 

He wandered into a local market and began to scope out the layout, as well as the wares. “Always know yer escape route,” was one of the first things Yondu had taught Peter, and it was now a habit for him to check for possible exits before he even considered taking anything. 

He browsed for a while, but didn’t see anything that tempted him. It was mostly food in this area, and he’d had a big breakfast before running off the ship. He kept walking, occasionally stopping to pick up something that caught his eye, but replacing it again without a second thought. He walked on through the market for a few more minutes without seeing anything worth taking, and was just about to turn around and head back to the ship when he spotted it – a market stall filled with weapons. He walked closer as he double-checked escape routes. 

He saw the stall owner talking to a potential customer about a laser cannon, and nonchalantly moved to the other side of the stall, hidden from view of the owner. There was a variety of weapons on display, most too big for him to easily steal without being caught. He kept looking, then noticed a small knife with intricate carvings on the handle and a wicked sharp blade. He picked it up and realized it folded in half – perfect for keeping in his pocket. He could slip it in his coat and no one would be the wiser. He did so, and had just turned his back to the stall to head back to the ship, when he heard, “Hey! Hey, kid! Get back here!” 

He didn’t hesitate, but took off running. He could hear pounding footsteps behind him, as well as the shouting of the stall owner. He shoved between two shoppers and kept running. Just when he thought he was in the clear, a guard stepped out of the alley on the left side of the path, right in front of him. The guard had clearly taken a shortcut in order to beat Peter there. “Stop, thief!” Peter hesitated for just a moment, then darted to the alley opening on his right. He could only hope that it wasn’t a dead end. It was too late to turn around anyway. Chancing a glance behind him, he saw the stall owner and two guards now trailing him, too close for comfort. 

He could see the end of the alley ahead of him, but realized too late that it was blocked by a high, chain-link fence. He could hear the guards and stall owner as they neared him. “We’ve got him now! He can’t go anywhere.” He was afraid they were right. He desperately tried to come up with a plan, but his mind had gone blank. It was then that he noticed the small hole at the bottom of the fence. He didn’t hesitate, falling to his stomach and crawling through the opening right as the guards reached the fence. 

“Get back here!” one of the guards yelled. Peter didn’t even spare a glance at them, as he darted between shoppers and left the fence behind. He knew they would turn around and head back to the other end of the alley and try to find him, and his only chance was to get back to the ship before they spotted him again. 

He was starting to get tired, and he wasn’t sure where the ship actually was now. He took a moment to stop and try to get his bearings. Trying to catch his breath, he looked around at the surrounding stalls and saw one that he recognized – it was one of the first ones he had passed when he left the ship. He was just about to start running again when he heard a voice yelling behind him, “There he is! Get him!”

He darted off, skirting around stalls and earning dirty looks from the shoppers he had to squeeze between. Without slowing down, he chanced another look behind him to see how close his pursuers were, then suddenly felt himself slam into someone. 

“What the - ? Boy, what do ya think yer doin’?” It was Yondu. The very last person Peter wanted to run into at the moment, and of course, it had to be Yondu. Yondu grabbed Peter’s shoulders and gave him a quick shake, “What did ya do?” 

“Nothin’,” Peter gasped, frantically trying to look behind himself.

“Nothin’? Don’t lie to me, boy,” Yondu scowled. The guards were getting closer now, and one yelled, “Hold that boy! Don’t let him get away!”

“An’ I guess that’s jus’ the welcoming committee wantin’ to invite ya to a little party, is it?”

“Yondu, please!”

Yondu let go of his shoulders, and, suddenly stern, said, “Where is it?”

“Wha’ - ?”

“Where is it?” he hissed.

“In… in my pocket.” 

“Give it to me.” 

Peter quickly handed it over, and Yondu slipped it into his own pocket. 

“Now get behind me, and keep yer mouth shut,” he ordered, right before the guards and stall owner slid to a stop in front of them. 

“Sir, do you know this boy?”

“Unfortunately, I do. He’s part a my crew.”

“Well, he was just caught stealing from this fine gentleman, so if you would be so kind as to hand him over, we’ll handle it from here.”

“Now, wait just a minute. Ya say ya caught ‘im stealing, but ya ain’t actually caught ‘im yet. What is it that y’all think he stole?” 

The stall owner spoke up, and said, “He stole a very expensive knife from me.”

“Is that right? Well, boy, empty yer pockets.”

Peter put his hands in his pockets and pulled out an assortment of items, including a crumpled up piece of paper, two marbles, some lint, and what looked like a leftover jelly pastry – now so smashed that it was inedible. 

“I don’t see nothin’ that looks like a knife,” said Yondu.

“He just didn’t pull it out of his pocket!” accused the stall owner.

“Well, then by all means, take a look fer yerselves,” offered Yondu, shoving Peter towards the guards.

One of the guards began rummaging in Peter’s pockets, removing his hand with a grimace when he realized it was now covered in jelly from the smashed pastry. 

“Well?” shouted the stall owner.

“I’m sorry, sir, there was nothing left in his pockets,” he said, trying to discreetly wipe his hand on his pants. “Are you sure you saw him steal the knife?”

“Yes, of course I did.”

“We can’t hold him if he wasn’t caught with the merchandise, sir. I apologize.”

“This… this is… ridiculous,” he sputtered. “If he didn’t steal it, why did he run? Hmmm?”

“That’s true,” agreed one of the guards. “Why did you run, if you weren’t guilty of anything?”

“Of course he’s guilty of somethin’, he’s a bratty kid, they’re always guilty of somethin’, but it ain’t always thievin’. I reckon the kid just got spooked when he heard y’all yellin.’ Ain’t that right, boy?”

Peter nodded, trying to look innocent.

“There ya go then, no harm done. Jus’ a kid bein’ stupid when he’s spooked.”

The stall owner’s face was steadily growing redder, but the guards looked torn. 

“Well, if y’all don’t mind, I got things to do, so we’ll jus’ be on our way now,” Yondu said, grinning at the guards. He grabbed Peter’s arm, and turned to head toward the ship, shoving Peter in front of him as he walked. 

They could still hear the stall owner yelling at the guards as they walked to the ship. 

“Boy, I swear, sometimes ya make me wanna kill ya. I think I’ll finally eat ya and be done with it.”

Peter had long figured out that Yondu was probably lying about eating him, but he seemed angry enough this time that he might actually consider it. He picked up his pace to put some distance between himself and the Centaurian. 

“Don’t you try runnin’ from me, boy. I’d just as soon send my arrow through ya as to chase ya.”

“I wasn’t runnin’.”

“Ya better not.”

They reached the ship and walked inside, Peter heading toward his favorite hiding place. He needed a few minutes to calm down, just him and his Walkman.

“Where do ya think yer goin’, boy? I ain’t finished talkin’ to ya yet.”

Peter stopped walking and reluctantly turned around to face Yondu.

“What are the first two things I told ya ‘bout thievin’?” Yondu yelled, as the ship’s doors closed behind him.

“Always know your escape routes, and don’t get caught,” muttered Peter.

“Exactly. An’ what do ya go an’ do? Ya get yerself caught.”

“I didn’t mean to get caught.”

“Nobody means to get caught, but ya did, an’ if it wasn’t fer me, ya’d be in jail right now. I shoulda left ya there, taught ya a lesson, ‘cause ya sure don’t seem to pay no attention to anythin’ I ever tell ya.”

“Well, why didn’t you then? You could have left me there and never had to see me again,” Peter yelled.

“Didn’t do it fer you, that’s fer sure, I jus’ didn’t wanna go lookin’ fer another lil’ kid to kidnap and train for thievin’. More trouble’n yer worth.”

Peter scowled. “What about my knife?”

“Ya mean my knife? Listen, boy, ya don’t deserve this knife. If ya can’t make a clean getaway, ya ain’t made a successful steal, which means this ain’t yer knife.”

“What? But I stole it! You can’t just take it from me!”

“Ya wanna bet? Now get outta here before I change my mind ‘bout eatin’ ya.”

Peter knew arguing about it was pointless, and if he kept pushing Yondu about it, he’d probably end up with an arrow through his heart. He turned around and stomped off, leaving Yondu shaking his head at the close call they’d just managed. 

Yondu would never show weakness in front of the kid, but he was secretly relieved they were able to leave the planet unscathed. He pulled the knife out of his pocket, and had to admit the kid had taste. He weighed the knife in his hand, as he tried to think of a way he could get it back to the boy without losing his pride.


End file.
